With Sam Mendes officially signed on to direct the next Bond film, there's going to be a flurry of rumours surrounding who'll play the villain. It's very early days yet and we've no idea who or what the villain will even look like. Nevertheless, here's five possible choices for the next Bond villain.

5. TOM HIDDLESTON

He may be riding high as Loki with Thor: The Dark World looking pretty cool from what we've seen so far. But Tom Hiddleston hasn't really had a chance to play a real baddie. Loki, bless him - he's a trickster and there's never a real sense that there's a darker, harder edge. We think if you put Hiddleston in the mix, give him an adult script and an adult character and he'll come back with something very, very cool.

4. MICHAEL FASSBENDER

We have a serious crush on Michael Fassbender. And he's been mooted as a possible replacement for Daniel Craig in the past. The Bender of Fasses would be a jah-mazing Bond villain. Think about it. He's got that chiselled jaw, rugged good looks and he can hold his own in serious acting roles. We see him as a sort of Alec Trevelyan / 007-alike agent; James Bond's photo-negative.

3. VIGGO MORTENSEN

Have you seen Eastern Promises? Stop reading this and go watch it, then come back to us. Are you back? Good. This conversation is over. There's your Bond villain right there.

2. ANDREW LINCOLN

He's been pretty impressive as Rick on The Walking Dead, but as we all know, that show's starting to look a little stale and it may be time for him to move on. Don't get us wrong, we love The Walking Dead but Season 3 wasn't exactly amazing. The whole dead wife thing? Really? Plus, this could be interesting to see him go against type. Given that he's coming from TV and would be eager to push himself, he could be an interesting choice. Plus, y'know, Spooks. That was a thing.

1. KEN WATANABE

Ken Watanabe is the clearest choice for this, we think. Firstly, he's got that on-screen presence that a Bond villain needs. You look at anything he's done, The Last Samurai, Batman Begins, Letters From Iwo Jima - the dude can act. You need that. Any of the previous Bond villains have been serious actors, like Mads Mikkelsen and Javier Bardem. Secondly, he looks like he can handle himself. One of the big things that's been missing from the newer Bond movies is a fistfight / gunfight between the villains. He was pretty bad-ass in The Last Samurai and if what we're hearing about Godzilla is true, he's going to be hot property like really soon.